Prayers keep us close to God

An inspirational story and a great example of how Christians should up-hold our values!

Crowds Recite Lord's Prayer Despite PA System Ban

from the August 30, 2011 eNews issue
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When the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation threatened DeSoto County schools with legal action unless they stopped leading prayer before high school sports games, the parents and students of DeSoto County took over. Prayer may no longer be offered from the PA system before football games, but fans in the stands have started saying the Lord's Prayer themselves.

It started when the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) discovered that schools in DeSoto County, Mississippi sponsored prayer before sporting events, having prayer led from the loudspeaker. The organization contacted the DeSoto County school district in mid-August, informing its leadership that legal action would be taken if the school-sponsored pre-game prayers did not stop. DeSoto Superintendent Milton Kuykendall received a letter saying, "We ask that the school district commence an immediate investigation into the complaints alleged and take immediate action to stop any and all prayer occurring before any athletic events and graduation ceremonies."

The school district stopped the prayers coming from the PA system, but it did not stop "any and all prayer" because the residents of DeSoto County wanted to keep praying, and they have a right to.

Rioters in London used online networking three weeks ago to join up and rampage across the city on a path of fiery destruction. Not a good thing. On the other hand, the population of DeSoto County used online networking to meet up and recite the Lord's Prayer together before football games. A DeSoto County 4 Prayer group quickly organized and parents and students wore t-shirts with the Lord's Prayer on the back. They went on prayer walks at the school before classes, and they prayed loudly in unison from the stands before the games started. The guy behind the PA system might have been forbidden to lead the pre-game prayer, but the people at the ball field said it anyway.

The FFRF may not have realized it would be setting a fire, and some residents see the whole ordeal as a blessing in disguise. "All they've done is increased the awareness, as Christians, of what we need to do to step it up and bring revival to DeSoto County," said parent Ronnie Pollard.

In the famous 1962 case of Abington School District v. Schempp, the US Supreme Court ruled that public schools could not lead students to pray. In the case of Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe (1999), the Supreme Court ruled that even student-led, student initiated prayer violated the 1st Amendment if it was authorized by the school. School-led prayer has been under constant attack since.

Students' freedoms of religion and speech do not end, however, when they walk onto school property. The people in the stands are free to pray – and pray out loud – as long as it's their idea and the school isn’t either encouraging or discouraging it.

"It should be a person's Constitutional right to pray if they want to pray," says resident Gary Frazier. "I think people from Wisconsin ought to mind their own business."

A Bad Taste: Since beginning their assault on school-sponsored prayer in DeSoto County, the FFRF has reported receiving plenty of non-fan mail. Superintendent Kuykendall made a statement last week accusing the FFRF of seeking to make millions of dollars off the lawsuit it had threatened to bring against the county.

"We get a lot of crank mail and abuse from religious blogs," Gaylor said. "It's incredibly depraved, horrible language and grotesque sexual imagery, and we can put up with that but we won't put up with a public official trying to defame us."  The FFRF has sought a retraction from Kuykendall.

Those who have written "depraved" letters should be ashamed.  If we claim to follow Christ, we should represent Him well by looking like Him and acting like Him, including in the way we approach those with whom we disagree.  We need to honor Christ in all we do.

Sweet Victory:At the same time, the people of DeSoto are excellent to pray out loud in the stands to honor God before games, and we should take their efforts to heart.  They should be commended for their show of unity in standing up for religious freedom in America.  Parent Leigh Harris expressed the heart of many:  "It just brought tears to my eyes to see all those people together saying the Lord's Prayer."

Related Links:

  •   FFRF Asks Superintendent For Apology - DeSoto Times Tribune 
  •   Parents Organize To Keep Prayer Before Desoto Football Games - WMCTV 
  •   DeSoto County Parents Fight School Prayer Ban - ABC24 
  •   DeSoto Parents, Students Recite Lord's Prayer At Games - The Commercial Appeal